Vessel Accidents: The First Moves That Keep the Owner’s Liability Capped at the Value of the Ship

Elizabeth A. Strunk | Liskow & Lewis

Elizabeth A. Strunk is an attorney in the Maritime practice group at Liskow & Lewis in Houston. Before joining the firm, she practiced in Seattle, where her work centered on incident response and litigating maritime disputes in state and federal courts. Her path to the law ran through the wheelhouse: she spent years as a deck officer aboard ocean-going tugboats and cargo ships, handling a wide range of cargoes and calling at ports worldwide, and she holds a USCG Master license, unlimited tonnage upon oceans, as well as a Master of Towing Vessels license, upon oceans.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Strunk earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2020, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Baltimore Law Review, and she holds a B.S. in Marine Transportation from Massachusetts Maritime Academy (2011). She is admitted to practice in Texas (2024), Oregon (2023), and Washington (2021), and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and federal district courts in Texas, Washington, and Oregon. During law school she interned for the Honorable Marvin J. Garbis and the Honorable A. David Copperthite at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, and she later served as a law clerk to the Honorable Douglas R. M. Nazarian on the Appellate Court of Maryland (2020–2021).

• Recognition & Leadership

At Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Ms. Strunk received the Captain S. Fraser Sammis Award for Outstanding Knowledge and Interest in Cargo Stowage and Handling. Her leadership within the maritime community includes service as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Baltimore Law Review and as a former Co-Chapter President of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Strunk serves as an At-Large Board Member of the Maritime Insurance Association of Seattle and as an Advisory Board Member of the Houston Maritime Arbitrators Association. She is the Maritime Law Association’s Young Lawyer Division Liaison for Autonomous Ships and Smart Marine Technology and a member of the Houston Mariners Club.

• Experience

Ms. Strunk’s practice draws directly on her prior career at sea, which shapes how she approaches vessel casualties and maritime disputes. She writes and speaks regularly on maritime topics, with publications addressing limitation of liability proceedings, pilot error and state statutes, Jones Act seaman status, and choice-of-law provisions in marine insurance contracts. She has previously presented this program’s subject matter to the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle.

SESSION 1 – Liabilities, Limitations, and Arrests – Oh My! | 1:00pm – 1:12pm

Explanation of a hypothetical scenario that includes a harbor pilot aboard a vessel, the initial casualty response, a scenario in which arrest of the vessel could be appropriate, and a subsequent Limitation of Liability action.

SESSION 2 – Casualty Response | 1:12pm – 1:24pm

Discussion of immediate actions in the aftermath of a casualty. This topic will include early actions to be taken by vessel owners and their counsel to limit a client’s exposure such as evidence preservation, litigation holds, FOIA requests for the preservation of public documents and data, witness statements, and cooperation with local and federal investigation authorities. This topic will also touch on mandatory notification requirements, USCG investigations, and the implications of witnesses pleading the 5th Amendment during interview or depositions.

SESSION 3 – Arrest | 1:24pm – 1:36pm

Discussion of the differences between a Supplement Rule C Arrest and a Supplemental Rule B attachment in order to recover from various losses and exposures. This topic will also discuss the legal mechanics of arrest, and the benefits of vessel arrest, such as determining jurisdiction for any impending suits or limitations.

SESSION 4 – Limitation of Liability | 1:36pm – 1:48pm

Discussion of the Limitation of Liability Act and the potential benefits to vessel owners. This topic will also include a discussion of how a claimant can break a vessel owner’s limitation of liability, and thus, the vessel owners exposure would no longer be capped at the value of the vessel.

SESSION 5 – Pilot Liability | 1:48pm – 2:00pm

Discussion of the very limited liability that harbor pilots carry, including relevant state laws limiting liability to gross negligence as well as the ultimate responsibility of a vessel’s master.